View source for Playing card

{{short description|Card used for playing various card games}}
{{redirect|Deck of cards|the song|The Deck of Cards}}
{{about||other uses, including specific playing cards|Playing card (disambiguation)}}

[[File:AcetoFive.JPG|thumb|Hand of [[French-suited cards]]]]
[[File:Tarockkarten in der Hand eines Spielers.jpg|thumb|[[Tarot playing cards]] from Austria]]
[[File:Bavarian pack-Suit of Bells.jpg|thumb|Suit of Bells from a Bavarian pack]]

A '''playing card''' is a piece of specially prepared [[card stock]], heavy paper, thin cardboard, [[plastic-coated paper]], cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a [[Paper#Finishing|finish]] to make handling easier. They are most commonly used for playing [[card game]]s, and are also used in [[magic trick]]s, [[cardistry]],<ref name="van-fair-2015">{{cite web |last1=Pang |first1=Kevin |title=72 Hours Inside the Eye-Popping World of Cardistry |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/04/cardistry-con-2015 |publisher=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=April 21, 2015}}</ref><ref name="cepeda-2019">{{cite web |last1=Cepeda |first1=Esther |title=Cardistry transforms deck of cards into performance art |url=https://www.postindependent.com/opinion/columns/cepeda-column-cardistry-transforms-deck-of-cards-into-performance-art/ |publisher=Post Independent |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=July 26, 2019}}</ref> [[card throwing]],<ref name="npr-ricky-jay">{{cite web |last1=Klimek |first1=Chris |title=Ricky Jay Remembered, From The Wings: An Assistant's Thoughts On the Late Magician |url=https://www.npr.org/2018/11/30/671637852/ricky-jay-remembered-from-the-wings-a-personal-assistants-thoughts-on-the-late-s |publisher=NPR |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=November 30, 2018 |quote=The second act climaxed with him throwing cards into watermelon, first the squishy interior, then the "pachydermatic outer melon layer."}}</ref> and [[house of cards|card houses]]; cards may also be collected.{{HochmanEncyclopedia}} Playing cards are typically palm-sized for convenient handling, and usually are sold together in a set as a '''deck of cards''' or '''pack of cards'''.

The most common type of playing card in the West is the [[French-suited]], [[standard 52-card pack]], of which the most widespread design is the [[English pattern]],{{efn|Also called the International or Anglo-American pattern, but 'English pattern' is the name recommended by the [[International Playing-Card Society]].}} followed by the [[Belgian-Genoese pattern]].<ref>[https://i-p-c-s.org/pattern/bgp.html ''Pattern Sheet 80''] at i-p-c-s.org. Retrieved 23 August 2020.</ref> However, many countries use other, traditional types of playing card, including those that are [[German-suited|German]], [[Italian-suited|Italian]], [[Spanish-suited|Spanish]] and [[Swiss-suited]]. [[Tarot card]]s (also known locally as ''Tarocks'' or ''tarocchi'') are an old genre of playing card that is still very popular in France, central and Eastern Europe and Italy. Customised Tarot card decks are also used for [[divination]]; including [[tarot card reading]] and [[cartomancy]].{{sfn|Decker|Depaulis|Dummett|1996|p=ix}} Asia, too, has regional cards such as the Japanese [[hanafuda]], Chinese [[Chinese playing cards#Money-suited cards|money-suited cards]], or Indian [[ganjifa]]. The reverse side of the card is often covered with a pattern that will make it difficult for players to look through the translucent material to read other people's cards or to identify cards by minor scratches or marks on their backs.

Playing cards are available in a wide variety of styles, as decks may be custom-produced for competitions, [[casino]]s<ref name="kaplan-nyt-2016"/> and [[Magician (illusionist)|magicians]]<ref name="np-wong">{{cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Alex |title=How young magicians are learning to cast a spell on a modern audience |url=https://nationalpost.com/entertainment/how-young-magicians-are-learning-to-cast-a-spell-on-a-modern-audience |newspaper=National Post |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=April 4, 2019}}</ref> (sometimes in the form of [[trick deck]]s),<ref name="wired-mallonee">{{cite web |last1=Mallonee |first1=Laura |title=The Secret Tools Magicians Use to Fool You |url=https://www.wired.com/story/magician-secret-tools-photo-gallery/ |publisher=Wired |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=November 9, 2018}}</ref> made as [[Promotion (marketing)|promotional]] items,<ref name="asi-hegel">{{cite web |last1=Hegel |first1=Theresa |title=Smart Promotional Items at CES |url=https://www.asicentral.com/news/newsletters/promogram/january-2018/smart-promotional-items-at-ces/ |website=Advertising Specialty Institute |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=January 10, 2018}}</ref> or intended as [[souvenir]]s,<ref name="guardian-haring">{{cite web |last1=Sawyer |first1=Miranda |title='The public has a right to art': the radical joy of Keith Haring |url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jun/02/public-has-right-to-art-keith-haring-tate-liverpool-exhibition |work=[[The Guardian]] |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=June 2, 2019 |quote=His art is everywhere. There are Haring T-shirts, Haring shoes, Haring chairs. You can buy Haring baseball hats and badges and baby-carriers and playing cards and stickers and keyrings.}}</ref><ref name="bakersfield-now-2018">{{cite web |last1=Wilson |first1=Lexi |title=A new deck of cards with a Bakersfield twist |url=https://bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/a-new-deck-of-cards-with-a-bakersfield-twist |publisher=Bakersfield Now |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=December 1, 2018}}</ref> artistic works, [[education]]al tools,<ref name="china-daily-shanghai">{{cite web |author1=Xinhua |title=Shanghai uses playing cards to promote garbage sorting |url=http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/201905/17/WS5cde71eba3104842260bc518.html |publisher=China Daily |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=2019-05-17}}</ref><ref name="nbc-ap-columbia"/><ref name="pop-sci-2018">{{cite web |author1=Stack Commerce |title=These playing cards help you learn about design |url=https://www.popsci.com/design-and-font-deck-playing-cards/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729055057/https://www.popsci.com/design-and-font-deck-playing-cards/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 29, 2019 |website=Popular Science |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=January 16, 2018 }}</ref> or [[brand]]ed accessories.<ref name="vogue-feb-19">{{cite web |last1=Ramzi |first1=Lilah |title=All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go: The Best Looks to Wear at Home |url=https://www.vogue.com/article/best-looks-to-wear-at-home |publisher=Vogue |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=February 25, 2019 |quote=[[Tiffany & Co.]] playing cards, $115}}</ref> Decks of cards or even single cards are also [[Collecting|collected]] as a hobby or for monetary value.<ref name="forbes-seideman">{{cite web |last1=Seideman |first1=David |title=Trading Cards Continue To Trounce The S&P 500 As Alternative Investments |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidseideman/2019/01/18/trading-cards-continue-to-trounce-the-sp-500-as-alternative-investments/#15b3e3a72f6e |work=Forbes |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=January 18, 2019}}</ref><ref name="nyt-sullivan-2018">{{cite web |last1=Sullivan |first1=Paul |title=Trading Cards: A Hobby That Became a Multimillion-Dollar Investment |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/03/23/your-money/trading-cards-investment.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=March 23, 2018}}</ref>

==History==
=== China ===

[[Image:Ming Dynasty playing card, c. 1400.jpg|thumb|upright=0.5|Chinese [[printing|printed]] playing card {{Circa|1400 AD}} found near [[Turpan]]]]

{{further|Chinese playing cards}}

Playing cards were most likely invented during the [[Tang dynasty]] around the 9th century, as a result of the usage of woodblock printing technology.<ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|1954|pp=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_1_Introductory_Orientations#page/n177/mode/2up 131–132]}}.</ref><ref name="wilkinson">{{cite journal|last=Wilkinson | first=W.H. | title=Chinese Origin of Playing Cards | journal=[[American Anthropologist]] | volume=VIII | issue=1 | year=1895 | pages=61–78 | doi=10.1525/aa.1895.8.1.02a00070 | url=https://zenodo.org/record/1448960 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="lo 2000 390"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2004|p=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_4-1_Physics_and_Physical_Technology_Physics#page/n379/mode/2up/search/dominoes 328]}} "it is also now rather well-established that dominoes and playing-cards were originally Chinese developments from dice."</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Needham|2004|p=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_4-1_Physics_and_Physical_Technology_Physics#page/n383/mode/2up 332]}} "Numbered dice, anciently widespread, were on a related line of development which gave rise to dominoes and playing-cards (+9th-century China)."</ref> The reference to a leaf game in a 9th-century text known as the ''Collection of Miscellanea at Duyang'' ({{lang-zh|s=杜阳杂编|p=Dùyáng zábiān}}), written by Tang dynasty writer Su E, is often cited in connection to the existence of playing cards. However the connection between playing cards and the leaf game is disputed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Works titled 杜陽雜編 |url=https://ctext.org/searchbooks.pl?if=en&searchu=%E6%9D%9C%E9%99%BD%E9%9B%9C%E7%B7%A8 |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Chinese Text Project}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Theobald |first=Ulrich |date=2012-09-30 |title=Duyang zabian |url=http://www.chinaknowledge.de/Literature/Novels/duyangzabian.html |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=ChinaKnowledge.de: An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature and Art}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Lo |first=Andrew |date=2000 |title=The game of leaves: An inquiry into the origin of Chinese playing cards |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/bulletin-of-the-school-of-oriental-and-african-studies/article/game-of-leaves-an-inquiry-into-the-origin-of-chinese-playing-cards/FCDF32E1461700E7617AAD4AA1750D56 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=63 |issue=3 |pages=389–406 |doi=10.1017/S0041977X00008466 |s2cid=159872810 |via=Cambridge University Press|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Parlett |first=David |title=Chinese Leaf Game: Did the Chinese really invent card games? |url=https://www.parlettgames.uk/histocs/leafgame.html |access-date=18 January 2023 |website=Historic Card Games}}</ref> The reference describes Princess Tongchang, daughter of [[Emperor Yizong of Tang]], playing the "leaf game" in 868 with members of the Wei clan, the family of the [[Wei Baoheng|princess's husband]].<ref name="lo 2000 390"/><ref name="zhou 1997 18">{{cite journal|author=Zhou, Songfang|title=On the Story of Late Tang Poet Li He|journal=Journal of the Graduates Sun Yat-sen University|year= 1997|volume= 18|issue= 3|pages=31–35}}</ref>{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|1985|p=131}} The first known book on the "leaf" game was called the ''Yezi Gexi'' and allegedly written by a Tang woman. It received commentary by writers of subsequent dynasties.{{sfn|Needham|2004|p=329}} The [[Song dynasty]] (960–1279) scholar [[Ouyang Xiu]] (1007–1072) asserts that the "leaf" game existed at least since the mid-Tang dynasty and associated its invention with the [[List of Chinese inventions#Printing|development of printed sheets]] as a writing medium.<ref name="lo 2000 390">{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1017/S0041977X00008466| title = The game of leaves: An inquiry into the origin of Chinese playing cards| journal = Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies| volume = 63| issue = 3| pages = 389–406| year = 2009| last1 = Lo | first1 = A. | s2cid = 159872810}}</ref>{{sfn|Needham|2004|p=329}} However, Ouyang also claims that the "leaves" were pages of a book used in a board game played with dice, and that the rules of the game were lost by 1067.<ref name="Parlett">[[David Parlett|Parlett, David]], "[https://www.parlettgames.uk/histocs/leafgame.html The Chinese "Leaf" Game]", March 2015.</ref>

Other games revolving around alcoholic drinking involved using playing cards of a sort from the Tang dynasty onward. However, these cards did not contain suits or numbers. Instead, they were printed with instructions or forfeits for whoever drew them.<ref name="Parlett"/>

The earliest dated instance of a game involving cards occurred on 17 July 1294 when the Ming Department of Punishments caught two gamblers, Yan Sengzhu and Zheng Zhugou{{efn|"Zhugou" is literally "pig-dog", possibly rendered as such because of a [[naming taboo]].}}, playing with paper cards. Wood blocks for printing the cards were impounded, together with nine of the actual cards.<ref name="Parlett"/><ref name=leaf>Lo, Andrew. (2000). [https://www.jstor.org/stable/1559494 The Game of Leaves: An Inquiry into the Origin of Chinese Playing Cards]. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, 63(3), 389–406.</ref>

[[William Henry Wilkinson]] suggests that the first cards may have been actual paper currency which doubled as both the tools of gaming and the stakes being played for,<ref name="wilkinson" /> similar to [[trading card]] games. Using paper money was inconvenient and risky so they were substituted by [[play money]] known as "money cards". One of the earliest games in which we know the rules is ''[[madiao]]'', a [[trick-taking game]], which dates to the [[Ming Dynasty]] (1368–1644). Fifteenth-century scholar [[Lu Rong]] described it as being played with 38 "money cards" divided into four [[suit (cards)|suit]]s: 9 in [[Cash (suit)|coin]]s, 9 in [[string of cash coins (currency unit)|strings of coins]] (which may have been misinterpreted as sticks from crude drawings), 9 in [[myriad]]s (of coins or of strings), and 11 in tens of myriads (a myriad is 10,000). The two latter suits had ''[[Water Margin]]'' characters instead of pips on them{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|1985|p=132}} with Chinese to mark their rank and suit. The suit of coins is in reverse order with 9 of coins being the lowest going up to 1 of coins as the high card.<ref>[http://www.themahjongtileset.co.uk/money-suited-playing-cards/ Money-suited playing cards] at The Mahjong Tile Set</ref>

=== Persia ===

Despite the wide variety of different patterns, the suits show a uniformity of structure. Every suit contains twelve cards with the top two usually being the [[court card]]s of [[King (playing card)|king]] and [[Vizier#Playing card rank|vizier]] and the bottom ten being [[pip card]]s. Some decks can contain 8 suits to make a 96-card deck, like the deck for [[Ganjifa]]. Half the suits use reverse ranking for their pip cards. There are many motifs for the suit pips but some include coins, clubs, jugs, and swords which resemble later [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] and Latin suits. [[Michael Dummett]] speculated that Mamluk cards may have descended from an earlier deck which consisted of 48 cards divided into four suits each with ten pip cards and two court cards.<ref>[http://i-p-c-s.org/faq/basics.php Playing card basics] at the [[International Playing-Card Society]] website</ref>

=== Egypt ===
[[File:Mamluk kanjifah cards.png|right|thumb|upright=1.5|Four Mamluk playing cards]]
By the 11th century, playing cards were spreading throughout the Asian continent and later came into Egypt.{{sfn|Needham|Tsien|1985|p=[https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Needham_Joseph_Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_5-1_Chemistry_and_Chemical_Technology_Paper_and_Printing#page/n165/mode/2up/search/Egypt 307]}} The oldest surviving cards in the world are four fragments found in the [[Keir Collection]] and one in the [[Benaki Museum]].{{efn|The designation of "oldest surviving cards" is complicated by the forms of the historical objects: Some may be less "card-like" and more akin to scaps of parchment.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nosowitz |first1=Dan |title=Playing Cards Around the World and Through the Ages |url=https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/history-of-playing-cards |website=Atlas Obscura |language=en |date=13 July 2020}}</ref>}} They are dated to the 12th and 13th centuries (late [[Fatimid Caliphate|Fatimid]], [[Ayyubid dynasty|Ayyubid]], and early [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluk]] periods).{{sfn|Dummett|1980|p=41}}

A near complete pack of Mamluk playing cards dating to the 15th century, and of similar appearance to the fragments above, was discovered by [[Leo Aryeh Mayer]] in the [[Topkapı Palace]], [[Istanbul]], in 1939.<ref name="bifao38">{{Citation|title=Le Bulletin de l'Institut français d'archéologie orientale|last=Mayer|first=Leo Ary|url=http://www.ifao.egnet.net/bifao/38/|year=1939|volume=38|pages=113–118|access-date=2008-09-08|postscript=.}}</ref> It is not a complete set and is actually composed of three different packs, probably to replace missing cards.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Berry |first=John |title=Mamluk Problems |journal=The Playing-Card |publisher=The International Playing-Card Society |publication-date=December 2001 |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=139 |issn=0305-2133}}</ref>  The Topkapı pack originally contained 52 cards comprising four suits: polo-sticks, coins, swords, and cups. Each suit contained ten pip cards and three court cards, called ''malik'' (king), ''nā'ib malik'' (viceroy or deputy king), and ''thānī nā'ib'' (second or under-deputy). The ''thānī nā'ib'' is a non-existent title so it may not have been in the earliest versions; without this rank, the Mamluk suits would structurally be the same as a Ganjifa suit. In fact, the word "Kanjifah" appears in Arabic on the king of swords and is still used in parts of the Middle East to describe modern playing cards. Influence from further east can explain why the Mamluks, most of whom were Central Asian Turkic [[Kipchaks]], called their cups ''[[Tumen (unit)|tuman]]'', which means [[:wikt:myriad|"myriad"]] (10,000) in the Turkic, Mongolian, and [[Jurchen language|Jurchen]] languages.<ref>Pollett, Andrea "The Playing-Card", Vol. 31, No 1 pp. 34–41.</ref> Wilkinson postulated that the cups may have been derived from inverting the Chinese and Jurchen ideogram for "myriad", {{lang|zh|{{linktext|万}}}}, which was pronounced as something like ''man'' in [[Middle Chinese]].

The Mamluk court cards showed abstract designs or calligraphy not depicting persons possibly due to [[Aniconism in Islam|religious proscription in Sunni Islam]], though they did bear the ranks on the cards. ''Nā'ib'' would be borrowed into French (''nahipi''), Italian (''naibi''), and Spanish (''naipes''), the latter word still in common usage. Panels on the pip cards in two suits show they had a reverse ranking, a feature found in [[madiao]], [[Ganjifa#Games|ganjifa]], and old European card games like [[ombre]], [[tarot card games|tarot]], and [[Spoil Five|maw]].<ref>[http://cards.old.no/1500-mamluk/ Mamluk cards]. Cards.old.no. Retrieved on 2015-05-10.</ref> A fragment of two uncut sheets of [[Moorish]]-styled cards of a similar was found in Spain and dated to the early 15th century.<ref>Wintle, Simon. [http://www.wopc.co.uk/spain/moorish/index Moorish playing cards] at The World of Playing Cards. Retrieved 22 July 2015.</ref>

Export of these cards (from Cairo, Alexandria, and Damascus), ceased after the fall of the Mamluks in the 16th century.<ref>[http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards64.htm The Mamluk Cards]. L-pollett.tripod.com. Retrieved on 2015-05-10.</ref> The rules to play these games are lost but they are believed to be [[trick-taking game|plain trick games]] without [[trump (card games)|trump]]s.<ref>[http://www.pagat.com/notrump/ No trump trick-taking games] at [[pagat.com]]</ref>

=== Spread across Europe and early design changes ===
{{See also|Tarot}}
[[Image:Knave of coins - Italy 2 deck.png|thumb|upright|right|Knave of Coins from the oldest known European deck ({{circa|1390–1410}})]]
[[File:Pietro_Longhi_-_Card_Players_-_KMSst426_-_Statens_Museum_for_Kunst.jpg|thumb|350px|Card players in 18th Century Venice, by [[Pietro Longhi]]]] 
Playing cards probably came to Europe from the East, specifically those used by the [[Mamluk Sultanate|Mamluks]] in Egypt, and probably arrived first in Spain since the earliest European mention of playing cards appears in 1371 in a [[Catalan language]] rhyme dictionary which lists ''naip'' among words ending in ''-ip''. According to [[Trevor Denning]], the only attested meaning of this Catalan word is "playing card".{{sfn|Denning|1996|p=14}} This suggests that cards may have been "reasonably well known" in [[Principality of Catalonia|Catalonia]] (now part of Spain) at that time, perhaps introduced as a result of maritime trade with the Mamluk rulers of Egypt.<ref>Ferg, Wayland & Wayland (2007), p. 117.</ref>

The earliest record of playing cards in central Europe is believed by some researchers to be a ban on card games in the city of [[Bern]] in 1367,<ref name="Peter F. Kopp 1973 pp. 130">Peter F. Kopp: Die frühesten Spielkarten in der Schweiz. In: Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 30 (1973), pp. 130–145, here 130.</ref><ref>Timothy B. Husband: The World in Play. Luxury Cards 1430–1540. Metropolitan Museum of Art 2016, S. 13.</ref> but this source is disputed as the earliest copy available dates to 1398 and may have been amended.<ref name="Hellmut Rosenfeld 1975 pp. 179">Hellmut Rosenfeld: Zu den frühesten Spielkarten in der Schweiz. Eine Entgegnung. In: Zeitschrift für schweizerische Archäologie und Kunstgeschichte 32 (1975), pp. 179–180.</ref><ref name="trionfi.com">{{cite web| url = http://trionfi.com/0/p/01/| title = Early Prohibitions of Playing Cards (Trionfi.com)}}</ref>{{sfn|Dummett|1980|pp=11-13}} Generally accepted as the first Italian reference is a [[Republic of Florence|Florentine]] ban dating to 1377.<ref name="Peter F. Kopp 1973 pp. 130"/><ref name="Hellmut Rosenfeld 1975 pp. 179"/><ref>[[Detlef Hoffmann]]: Kultur- und Kunstgeschichte der Spielkarte. Marburg: Jonas Verlag 1995, p. 43.</ref> Also appearing in 1377 was the treatise by [[John of Rheinfelden]], in which he describes playing cards and their moral meaning.<ref name="trionfi_p10">{{cite web|title=Johannes of Rheinfelden, 1377 |website=Trionfi |url=http://trionfi.com/0/p/10/ |access-date=2015-09-28 |language=en}}</ref>  From this year onwards more and more records (usually bans) of playing cards occur,<ref>Wilhelm Ludwig Schreiber: ''Die ältesten Spielkarten und die auf das Kartenspiel Bezug habenden Urkunden des 14. und 15. Jahrhunderts''. Heitz, Straßburg 1937.</ref><ref name="trionfi.com"/> first appearing in England as early as 1413.{{sfn|Depaulis|2013|pp=165–169}}

Among the early patterns of playing card were those derived from the Mamluk suits of cups, coins, swords, and polo sticks, which are still used in traditional [[Latin-suited|Latin decks]].<ref>[[Donald Laycock]] in ''Skeptical—a Handbook of Pseudoscience and the Paranormal'', ed [[Donald Laycock]], [[David Vernon (writer)|David Vernon]], [[Colin Groves]], [[Simon Brown (author)|Simon Brown]], Imagecraft, Canberra, 1989, {{ISBN|0-7316-5794-2}}, p. 67</ref> As [[polo]] was an obscure sport to Europeans then, the polo-sticks became batons or cudgels.<ref>[http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards77.htm Andy's Playing Cards - The Tarot And Other Early Cards - page XVII - the moorish deck]. L-pollett.tripod.com. Retrieved on 2015-05-10.</ref> In addition to Catalonia in 1371, the presence of playing cards is attested in 1377 in [[Old Swiss Confederacy|Switzerland]], and 1380 in many locations including [[Florence]] and [[Paris]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trionfi.com/0/p/01/|title=Tarot and its history|website=Trionfi}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://trionfi.com/0/p/02/|title=Tarot and its history|website=Trionfi}}</ref><ref>J. Brunet i Bellet, ''Lo joch de naibs, naips o cartas'', Barcelona, 1886, quote in the ''"Diccionari de rims'' de 1371 : ''darrerament/per ensajar/de bandejar/los seus guarips/joch de nayps/de nit jugàvem'', see also [http://trionfi.com/0/p/28/ le site trionfi.com]</ref> Wide use of playing cards in Europe can, with some certainty, be traced from 1377 onward.<ref name="Banzhaf">{{Citation |last1=Banzhaf |first1=Hajo |title=Il Grande Libro dei Tarocchi |year=1994 |publisher=Hermes Edizioni |location=Roma |language=it |isbn=978-88-7938-047-8 |pages=16, 192}}</ref>

In the account books of [[Joanna, Duchess of Brabant|Johanna, Duchess of Brabant]] and [[Wenceslaus I, Duke of Luxembourg]], an entry dated May 14, 1379, by receiver general of Brabant Renier Hollander reads: "Given to Monsieur and Madame four peters and two florins, worth eight and a half sheep, for the purchase of packs of cards".<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Guiffrey|first=Jules|date=1871|title=Recherches sur les cartes à jouer et sur leur fabrication en Belgique depuis 1379 jusqu'à la fin du XVIIIe siècle, par Alexandre Pinchar.|url=https://www.persee.fr/doc/bec_0373-6237_1871_num_32_1_446412|journal=Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes|volume=32|issue=1|pages=198–199}}</ref> In his book of accounts for 1392 or 1393, Charles or Charbot Poupart, treasurer of the household of [[Charles VI of France]], records payment for the painting of three sets of cards.<ref>Olmert, Michael (1996). ''Milton's Teeth and Ovid's Umbrella: Curiouser & Curiouser Adventures in History'', p.135. Simon & Schuster, New York. {{ISBN|0-684-80164-7}}.</ref>

From about 1418 to 1450<ref name="trionfi20">{{cite web|url=http://trionfi.com/0/p/20/|title=Early Card painters and Printers in Germany, Austria and Flandern (14th and 15th century)|website=Trionfi}}</ref> professional card makers in [[Ulm]], [[Nuremberg]], and [[Augsburg]] created printed decks. Playing cards even competed with devotional images as the most common uses for [[woodcut]]s in this period. Most early woodcuts of all types were coloured after printing, either by hand or, from about 1450 onwards, [[stencil]]s. These 15th-century playing cards were probably painted. The [[Flemish Hunting Deck]], held by the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], is the oldest complete set of ordinary playing cards made in Europe from the 15th century.<ref name=label>{{cite web |url=http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/475513?=&imgno=0&tabname=label |title=The Cloisters Playing Cards, ca. 1475–80 |publisher=[[Metropolitan Museum of Art]] |access-date=19 May 2015}}</ref>

As cards spread from Italy to Germanic countries, the Latin suits were replaced with the suits of leaves (or shields), hearts (or roses), bells, and acorns. France initially used Latin-suited cards and the [[Aluette]] pack used today in western France may be a relic of that time, but around 1480, French card manufacturers, perhaps in order to facilitate mass production, went over to very much simplified versions of the German suit symbols. A combination of Latin and Germanic suit pictures and names resulted in the French suits of {{lang|fr|trèfles}} (clovers), {{lang|fr|carreaux}} (tiles), {{lang|fr|cœurs}} (hearts), and {{lang|fr|piques}} (pikes) around 1480. The ''trèfle'' (clover) was probably derived from the acorn and the {{lang|fr|pique}} (pike) from the leaf of the German suits. The names {{lang|fr|pique}} and ''spade'', however, may have derived from the sword ({{lang|fr|spade}}) of the Italian suits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://trionfi.com/0/p/16/|title=Early Playing Cards Research|website=Trionfi|access-date=22 September 2014}}</ref> In England, the French suits were eventually used, although the earliest packs circulating may have had Latin suits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://jducoeur.org/game-hist/seaan-cardhist.html|title=The Introduction of Playing-Cards to Europe|work=jducoeur.org}}</ref> This may account for why the English called the clovers "clubs" and the pikes "spades".

In the late 14th century, Europeans changed the Mamluk court cards to represent European royalty and attendants. In a description from 1377, the earliest courts were originally a seated "[[King (playing card)|king]]", an upper [[marshal]] that held his suit symbol up, and a lower marshal that held it down.<ref>[http://i-p-c-s.org/history.html History of Playing-Cards] at [[International Playing-Card Society]] website</ref><ref>Wintle, Simon. [http://www.wopc.co.uk/history/earlyrefs Early references to Playing Cards] at World of Playing Cards.</ref> The latter two correspond with the [[Ober (playing card)|''Ober'']] and [[Unter (playing card)|''Unter'']] cards still found today in [[German playing cards|German]] and [[Swiss playing cards]]. The Italians and Iberians replaced the {{lang|de|Ober}}/{{lang|de|Unter}} system with the "[[Knight (playing card)|Knight]]" and [[Jack (playing card)|"{{lang|it|Fante|nocat=y}}" or "{{lang|es|Sota|nocat=y}}"]] before 1390, perhaps to make the cards more visually distinguishable.

In England, the lowest court card was called the "[[Knave (playing card)|knave]]" which originally meant ''male child'' (compare German {{lang|de|Knabe}}), so in this context the character could represent the "[[prince]]", son to the king and queen; the meaning ''servant'' developed later.<ref>{{cite book|last=Barrington|first=Daines|author-link=Daines Barrington|title=Archaeologia, or, Miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity|volume=8|year=1787|publisher=[[Society of Antiquaries of London]]|page=141}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Oxford English Dictionary|edition=2|year=1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Oxford, England |chapter=knave, n, 2|title-link=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref> [[Queen (playing card)|Queen]]s appeared sporadically in packs as early as 1377, especially in Germany. Although the Germans abandoned the queen before the 1500s, the French permanently picked it up and placed it under the king.

In 1628, the Mystery of Makers of Playing Cards of the City of London  (now the [[Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards]]) was incorporated under a [[royal charter]] by [[Charles I of England|Charles I]]; the Company received [[Livery company|livery status]] from the [[Court of Aldermen]] of the [[City of London]] in 1792.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://makersofplayingcards.org|title= A Brief company history|website=www.makersofplayingcards.org|access-date= 7 December 2020}}</ref> The Company still exists today, having expanded its member ranks to include "card makers... card collectors, dealers, bridge players, [and] magicians".<ref name="wcmp">{{cite web |title=Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards |url=http://www.makersofplayingcards.co.uk/ |website=Worshipful Company of Makers of Playing Cards |access-date=24 September 2019}}</ref>

During the mid 16th century, Portuguese traders introduced playing cards to Japan. The first indigenous Japanese deck was the {{lang|ja|[[Karuta#Early Karuta|Tenshō karuta]]}} named after the [[Tenshō (Momoyama period)|{{lang|ja|Tenshō|nocat=y}} period]].<ref>[http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards9.htm Andy's Playing Cards - Japanese and Korean Cards]. L-pollett.tripod.com. Retrieved on 2015-05-10.</ref>

=== Later design changes ===
[[File:Portuguese-style Maltese card game with dragons. Ace of Coins.jpg|thumb|right|Card from a deck showing edge indices, 1693]]
Packs with corner and edge indices (i.e. the value of the card printed at the corner(s) or edges of the card) enabled players to hold their cards close together in a fan with one hand (instead of the two hands previously used). An early example of a pack with edge indices and Latin suits was printed by Infirerra and dated 1693.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Denning |first1=Trevor |last2=Schirò |first2=Joseph |title=Maltese Dragon Cards |url=http://www.i-p-c-s.org/publications.html#journal |journal=The Playing-Card |publisher=International Playing Cards Society |issn=0305-2133 |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=34}}</ref> However, this feature was commonly used only from the end of the 18th century. The first American-manufactured (French) deck with this innovation was the Saladee's Patent, printed by Samuel Hart in 1864. In 1870, he and his cousins at Lawrence & Cohen followed up with the Squeezers, the first cards with indices that had a large diffusion.<ref name="HochmanEncyclopedia"/>

[[File:Girl with Cards by Lucius Kutchin, 1933.jpg|thumb|left|''Girl with Cards'' by [[Lucius Kutchin]], 1933, Smithsonian American Art Museum]]
This was followed by the innovation of reversible court cards. This invention is attributed to a French card maker of [[Agen]] in 1745.{{Dubious|Early double-headed face cards|date=September 2024}} But the French government, which controlled the design of playing cards, prohibited the printing of cards with this innovation. In central Europe ([[Trappola]] cards) and Italy ([[Tarocco Bolognese]]) the innovation was adopted during the second half of the 18th century. In Great Britain, the pack with reversible court cards was patented in 1799 by Edward Ludlow and Ann Wilcox.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tregear |first=Michael |title=Book Reviews: British Patents, Design of and Games with Playing-Cards. |journal=The Playing-Card |publisher=International Playling Card Society |publication-date=June 1999 |volume=27 |issue=5 |pages=209 |issn=0305-2133}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Burke |first=Edmund |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F7yNMvYReI0C&dq=editions:LCCN07015364&pg=RA3-PA402 |title=Annual Register |date=1801 |pages=402 |language=en}}</ref> Not being registered card-makers, they worked with printer Thomas Wheeler to produce a French-suited pack using this patent, which was first sold in 1801.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cooper |first=Michael |title=The Wheelers: A Family of Card Makers and Card Forgers? |journal=The Playing-Card |publisher=International Playing Card Society |publication-date=August 2002 |volume=31 |issue=1 |pages=22 |issn=0305-2133}}</ref>

Sharp corners wear out more quickly, and could possibly reveal the card's value, so they were replaced with rounded corners. Before the mid-19th century, British, American, and French players preferred blank backs. The need to hide wear and tear and to discourage writing on the back led cards to have designs, pictures, photos, or advertising on the reverse.<ref name="NYUCollection">{{Cite web |title=Playing card and game collection: NYU Special Collections Finding Aids |url=https://findingaids.library.nyu.edu/nyhs/pr115_playing_cards_games/ |access-date=2024-09-17 |website=NYU Special Collections Search Portal |language=en-us}}</ref>

[[Image:Imperial Bower.png|thumb|right|upright|An early [[Joker (playing card)|Joker]] by Samuel Hart, {{Circa|1863}}]]
The [[United States]] introduced the [[joker (playing card)|joker]] into the deck. It was devised for the game of [[euchre]], which spread from Europe to America beginning shortly after the [[American Revolutionary War]]. In euchre, the highest trump card is the Jack of the trump suit, called the ''right bower'' (from the German ''[[:de:Bube (Spielkarte)|Bauer]]''); the second-highest trump, the ''left bower'', is the jack of the suit of the same color as trumps. The joker was invented c. 1860 as a third trump, the ''imperial'' or ''best bower'', which ranked higher than the other two ''bowers''.{{sfn|Parlett|1990|p=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl/page/190 190]}} The name of the card is believed to derive from ''juker'', a variant name for euchre.<ref name="uspchist">[https://web.archive.org/web/20070826144858/http://www.usplayingcard.com/gamerules/briefhistory.html US Playing Card Co. – A Brief History of Playing Cards] (archive.org mirror)</ref><ref name=beal_joker>Beal, George (1975). ''Playing cards and their story.'' New York: Arco Publishing Company Inc. p. 58</ref> The earliest reference to a joker functioning as a [[wild card (card games)|wild card]] dates to 1875 with a variation of poker.{{sfn|Parlett|1990|p=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl/page/191 191]}}

Playing cards were also some of the earliest products to be sold in packaging. Early card packs were sold in paper sleeves held closed with a string. The 19th century saw the apparition of progressively more complex cardboard packaging, with tuck-flap boxes becoming common by the end of the century. [[Cellophane]] wrappers were common by 1937.<ref name="NYUCollection"/>

===Modern-era manufacturers and artists===
[[File:Nintendo former headquarter plate Kyoto.jpg|thumb|Company name plate at the original headquarters of Nintendo]]
The Japanese video game company [[Nintendo]] was founded in 1889 to produce and distribute {{Nihongo|''[[karuta]]''|かるた||from [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] {{lang|pt|carta}}, 'card'}}, most notably {{Nihongo3|'flower cards'|[[wikt:花札|花札]]|[[hanafuda]]}}.{{sfn|Sheff|1999|p=14}} ''Hanafuda'' cards had become popular after Japan banned most forms of gambling in 1882 but largely left ''hanafuda'' untouched. Sales of ''hanafuda'' cards were popular with the [[yakuza]]-run gaming parlors in Kyoto. Other card manufacturers had opted to leave the market not wanting to be associated with criminal ties, but Nintendo founder [[Fusajiro Yamauchi]] continued, becoming the largest producer of ''hanafuda'' within a few years. With the increase of the cards' popularity, Yamauchi hired assistants to [[Mass production|mass-produce]] to satisfy the demand. Even with a favorable start, the business faced financial struggle due to operating in a [[niche market]], the slow and expensive manufacturing process, high product price, alongside long durability of the cards, which impacted sales due to the low replacement rate.{{Sfn|Gorges|2015a|p=16}} As a solution, Nintendo produced a cheaper and lower-quality line of playing cards, {{transliteration|ja|Tengu}}, while also conducting product offerings in other cities such as [[Osaka]], where card game profits were high. In addition, local merchants were interested in the prospect of a continuous renewal of decks, thus avoiding the suspicions that reusing cards would generate.{{Sfn|Gorges|2015a|p=17}}

== Research ==
[[Columbia University]]'s Rare Book and Manuscript Library holds the [[Albert Field (archivist)|Albert Field]] Collection of Playing Cards, an archive of over 6,000 individual decks from over 50 countries and dating back to the 1550s.<ref name="nbc-ap-columbia">{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |title=N.Y card collection includes 6,356 decks |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna27148893 |website=NBC News |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=2008-10-12}}</ref> In 2018 the university digitized over 100 of its decks.<ref name="lib-albert-field">{{cite web |title=Collections News {{!}} Albert Field Playing Cards go online |website=News from Columbia's Rare Book & Manuscript Library|url=https://blogs.cul.columbia.edu/rbml/2018/09/10/collections-news-albert-field-playing-cards-go-online/ |publisher=Columbia University Libraries |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=September 10, 2018}}</ref>

Since 2017, [[Vanderbilt University]] has been home to the 1,000-volume [[George Clulow and United States Playing Card Co. Gaming Collection]], which has been called one of the "most complete and scholarly collections [of books on cards and gaming] that has ever been gathered together".<ref name="vanderbilt-17">{{cite web |last1=Owens |first1=Anne Marie Dear |title=Vanderbilt now home to extraordinary gaming collection |url=https://news.vanderbilt.edu/2017/08/25/vanderbilt-now-home-to-extraordinary-gaming-collection/ |publisher=Vanderbilt University |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=August 25, 2017}}</ref>

=== Journals ===
Journals and magazines dedicated to the subject of playing cards include:

* ''Das Blatt'' – German publication primarily on playing card designs and history
* ''[[The Playing-Card]]'' – international publication incorporating research articles on playing cards and card games
* ''Clear the Decks'' – American publication of [[52 Plus Joker]]

==Modern formats==
{{main article|List of traditional card and tile packs}}
{{See also|Playing card suit}}
{| class="wikitable"  style="text-align:center; float:right; margin-left: 1em;"
|+International playing card suits
|-
|scope="row"|[[Italian playing cards|Italian]]
|Cups<br/> [[Image:Seme coppe carte trevisane.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Coins<br/> [[Image:Seme denari carte trevisane.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Clubs<br/> [[Image:Seme bastoni carte trevisane.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Swords<br/> [[Image:Seme spade carte trevisane.svg|35x35px|center]]
|-
|scope="row"|[[Spanish-suited playing cards|Spanish]]
|Cups<br/> [[Image:Seme coppe carte spagnole.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Coins<br/> [[Image:Seme denari carte spagnole.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Clubs<br/> [[Image:Seme bastoni carte spagnole.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Swords<br/> [[Image:Seme spade carte spagnole.svg|35x35px|center]]
|-
|scope="row"|[[Portuguese-suited playing cards|Portuguese]]
|Cups<br/> [[Image:Seme coppe carte tarocco siciliano.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Coins<br/> [[Image:Seme denari carte tarocco siciliano.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Clubs<br/> [[Image:Seme bastoni carte tarocco siciliano.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Swords<br/> [[File:Seme spade carte tarocco siciliano.svg|35x35px|center]]
|-
|scope="row"|[[French-suited playing cards|French]]
|Hearts<br /> [[Image:SuitHearts.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Diamonds<br /> [[Image:SuitDiamonds.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Clubs<br /> [[Image:SuitClubs.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Spades<br /> [[Image:SuitSpades.svg|35x35px|center]]
|-
|scope="row"|[[German-suited playing cards|German]]
|Hearts<br/> [[Image:Bay herz.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Bells<br/> [[Image:Bay schellen.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Acorns<br/> [[Image:Bay eichel.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Leaves<br/> [[Image:Bay gras.svg|35x35px|center]]
|-
|scope="row"|[[Swiss-suited playing cards|Swiss]]
|Roses<br/> [[Image:RosendeutschschweizerBlatt.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Bells<br/> [[Image:SchellendeutschschweizerBlatt.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Acorns<br/> [[Image:EichelndeutschschweizerBlatt.svg|35x35px|center]]
|Shields<br/> [[Image:Bouclier jeu de carte.svg|35x35px|center]]
|}
Contemporary playing cards are grouped into three broad categories based on the suits they use: French, Latin, and Germanic. Latin suits are used in the closely related Spanish and Italian formats.  The Swiss-German suits are distinct enough to merit their subcategory. Excluding jokers and tarot trumps, the French 52-card deck preserves the number of cards in the original Mamluk deck, while Latin and Germanic decks average fewer. Latin decks usually drop the higher-valued pip cards, while Germanic decks drop the lower-valued ones.

Within suits, there are regional or national variations called "standard patterns."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://i-p-c-s.org/pattern/notes.html|title=Standard pattern notes|publisher=I-p-c-s.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181211052711/https://i-p-c-s.org/pattern/notes.html|archive-date=December 11, 2018|access-date=2015-05-10}}</ref> Pattern differences are most easily found in the face cards but the number of cards per deck, the use of numeric indices, or even minor shape and arrangement differences of the pips can be used to distinguish them. Some patterns have been around for hundreds of years. Jokers are not part of any pattern as they are a relatively recent invention and lack any standardized appearance so each publisher usually puts its own trademarked illustration into their decks. The wide variation of jokers has turned them into collectible items. Any card that bore the [[stamp duty]] like the [[ace of spades]] in England, the ace of clubs in France or the ace of coins in Italy are also collectible as that is where the manufacturer's logo is usually placed.

Typically, playing cards have indices printed in the upper-left and lower-right corners. While this design does not restrict which hand players hold their cards, some [[Bias against left-handed people|left-handed]] players may prefer to fan their cards in the opposite direction. Some designs exist with indices in all four corners.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.leftyslefthanded.com/Lefty_s_Left_Handed_Playing_Cards_p/607414.htm|title=Lefty's "Always right" double deck of playing cards|publisher=[[Lefty's]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/craigertiger/sinister-deck-the-left-handed-card-deck-with-famou|title=Sinister Deck: The Left-Handed Card Deck With Famous Lefties |date=19 November 2023 }}</ref>

==={{anchor|French}}French-suited decks===<!-- Some card game infoboxes may have different names to this-->
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{{main article|French playing cards}}
[[File:Svg-cards-2.0.svg|left|thumb|52 French-suited playing cards with jokers, with honors marked in English]]
French decks come in a variety of patterns and deck sizes. The [[Standard 52-card deck|52-card deck]] is the most popular deck and includes 13 ranks of each suit with reversible "court" or face cards. Each suit includes an [[Ace (playing card)|ace]], depicting a single symbol of its suit, a king, queen, and jack, each depicted with a symbol of their suit; and ranks two through ten, with each card depicting that number of pips of its suit. As well as these 52 cards, commercial packs often include between one and six jokers, most often two.

Decks with fewer than 52 cards are known as [[stripped deck]]s. The [[piquet pack]] has all values from 2 through 6 in each suit removed for a total of 32 cards. It is popular in France, the [[Low Countries]], Central Europe and is used to play [[piquet]], [[belote]], [[bezique]] and [[Skat (card game)|skat]]. Values in Russian 36-card stripped deck (used to play [[durak]] and many other traditional games) range from 6 to 10. It is also used in the Sri Lankan, [[whist]]-based game known as ''omi''. Forty-card French suited packs are common in northwest Italy; these remove the 8s through 10s like Latin-suited decks. 24-card decks, removing 2s through 8s are also sold in Austria and Bavaria to play [[Schnapsen]].

A [[pinochle]] deck consists of two copies of a 24-card [[schnapsen]] deck, thus 48 cards.

The 78-card [[Tarot Nouveau]] adds the knight card between queens and jacks along with 21 numbered trumps and the unnumbered [[The Fool (Tarot card)|Fool]].

== Manufacturing ==
[[File:Druckhalle.jpg|thumb|The [[Spielkartenfabrik Altenburg]] playing card factory in [[Altenburg|Altenburg, Germany]]]]
[[File:comparison_playing_card_size.svg|thumb|upright|Comparison of dimensions of common playing card sizes]]
Today the process of making playing cards is highly automated. Large sheets of [[paper]] are glued together to create a sheet of [[pasteboard]]; the glue may be black or dyed another dark color to increase the card stock's [[Opacity (optics)|opacity]]. In the industry, this black compound is sometimes known as "gick".{{citation needed|date=February 2020}} Some card manufacturers may purchase pasteboard from various suppliers; large companies such as [[USPCC]] create their own proprietary pasteboard. After the desired imagery is etched into [[printing plate]]s, the art is printed onto each side of the pasteboard sheet, which is coated with a textured or smooth finish, sometimes called a varnish or paint coating. These coatings can be water- or solvent-based, and different textures and visual effects can be achieved by adding certain dyes or foils, or using multiple varnish processes.<ref name="cartamundi-special-techniques">{{cite web |title=Special Techniques |url=https://cartamundi.com/en/cases/specialtechniques/ |website=Cartamundi |access-date=29 July 2019 |archive-date=25 October 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211025073954/https://cartamundi.com/en/cases/specialtechniques/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The pasteboard is then split into individual uncut sheets, which are cut into single cards and sorted into decks.<ref name="ga-curcio">{{cite web |last1=Curcio |first1=Tony |title=Rollem installs new Slipstream Automatic Card-Cutting System at Napco |url=https://graphicartsmag.com/news/2017/08/rollem-installs-new-slipstream-automatic-card-cutting-system-napco/ |publisher=Graphic Arts |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=August 7, 2017 |quote=Upon learning that this specialized slitting, collating, and round-cornering machine is used by the world's top playing card manufacturers, and after seeing demonstrations of full press sheets trimmed, cut, collated and round-cornered at speeds up to 2,000 sheets per hour with 100% accuracy, we knew we had found our solution. |archive-date=29 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429165152/https://graphicartsmag.com/news/2017/08/rollem-installs-new-slipstream-automatic-card-cutting-system-napco/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> The corners are then rounded, after which the decks are packaged, commonly in [[wikt:tuck box|tuck boxes]] wrapped in [[cellophane]]. The tuck box may have a [[Seal (emblem)|seal]] applied.<ref name="matthews-how-made">{{cite web |last1=Matthews |first1=Andy |title=How Playing Cards Are Made |url=https://www.meeplemountain.com/articles/how-playing-cards-are-made/ |website=Meeple Mountain |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=July 27, 2017}}</ref><ref name="patent-4779">{{cite patent |country=US |number=4779401 |status= |title= Arrangement for manufacturing and packaging cards, especially playing cards |pubdate=1988-10-25 |gdate= |fdate=1987-05-22 |pridate=1986-05-31 |inventor=Thomas Pedersen |invent1= |invent2= |assign1= |assign2= |class= |url=}}</ref>

Card manufacturers must pay special attention to the [[Printing registration|registration]] of the cards, as non-[[symmetrical]] cards can be used to cheat.<ref name="courier-post-2015">{{cite web |agency=Associated Press |title=Casino: Cards destroyed before knowing of scheme |url=https://www.courierpostonline.com/story/news/local/south-jersey/2015/08/15/casino-cards-destroyed-knowing-scheme/31774767/ |publisher=Courier Post |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=August 15, 2015}}</ref><ref name="kaplan-nyt-2016">{{cite web |last1=Kaplan |first1=Michael |title=How 'Advantage Players' Game the Casinos |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/03/magazine/how-advantage-players-game-the-casinos.html |work=The New York Times |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=June 29, 2016}}</ref>

==Non-standard design and use==
===Airlines===
[[File:Cards, playing (AM 2007.17.12-4).jpg|thumb|Playing cards produced by [[Air New Zealand]]]]
Airlines have produced playing cards to give to passengers since the 1920s, with the practice reaching a zenith in the 1960s and 1970s.<ref name="dmi-2019">{{cite web |last1=Slutsken |first1=Howard |title=Deal Me In: The History of Airline Card Decks |url=https://apex.aero/articles/deal-history-airline-card-decks/ |publisher=APEX Experience |date=March 21, 2019}}</ref><ref name="cnt-whittle-17">{{cite web |last1=Whittle |first1=Andrea |title=Revisit the Golden Age of Travel With Vintage Playing Cards |url=https://www.cntraveler.com/story/revisit-the-golden-age-of-travel-with-vintage-playing-cards |publisher=Conde Nast Traveler |date=February 6, 2017}}</ref><ref name="aaw-steiner-19">{{cite web |last1=Steiner |first1=Marty |title=Come Fly With Me… The World Of Airlines Collectibles |url=https://www.antiquesandthearts.com/come-fly-with-methe-world-of-airlines-collectibles/ |publisher=Antiques and the Arts Weekly |date=July 9, 2019}}</ref> However, the practice has become less common in recent decades.<ref name="wp-alexander-03">{{cite news |last1=Alexander |first1=Keith L. |title=Missing The Little Things |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2003/05/27/missing-the-little-things/9b349e82-c739-4cbb-809e-6a12cfe52524/ |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=May 27, 2003}}</ref>

[[Delta Air Lines]] has created several series of decks, with several featuring art by Daniel C. Sweeney, John Hardy, and Jack Laycox.<ref name="bh-2017">{{cite web |last1=Byrum Dennis |first1=Vicki |title=Milinda Perry Gallery features Jack Laycox paintings |url=https://beniciaheraldonline.com/milinda-perry-gallery-features-jack-laycox-paintings/ |publisher=Benicia Herald |date=July 26, 2017}}</ref><ref name="wastrack-2005">{{cite book |last1=Wastrack |first1=Harry |title=Price Guide for Collectable Playing Cards |date=2005 |publisher=Xlibris Corporation |isbn=1413493300}}</ref>

=== Casinos ===
Gambling corporations commonly have playing cards made specifically for their casinos. As casinos consume many decks daily, they sometimes resell used cards that were "on the [casino] floor". The cards sold to the public are altered, either by cutting the deck's corners or by punching a hole in the deck,<ref name="kaplan-nyt-2016"/> to prevent them from being used for cheating in the casino.

Casinos may also sell decks separately as a souvenir item {{emdash}} one notable example is [[Jerry's Nugget playing cards]], released in 1970.

=== Cold case cards ===
Police departments,<ref name="ri-pawtucket"/> local governments, state prison systems,<ref name="ct-doc-cold-case">{{cite web |title=Cold Case Cards |url=https://portal.ct.gov/doc/miscellaneous/cold-case-cards |website=Connecticut State Department of Correction |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref> and even private organizations<ref name="tu-new-york">{{cite news |last1=Masters |first1=Emily |title=New York cold case playing cards hit 10-year mark |url=https://www.timesunion.com/news/article/New-York-cold-case-playing-cards-hit-10-year-mark-12306126.php |newspaper=Times Union |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=October 29, 2017}}</ref> across the United States and other countries have created decks of cards that feature photos, names, and details of [[cold case]] victims or missing persons on each card.<ref name="nyt-carballo-24"/><ref name="nbc-ap-columbia"/><ref name="wciv-17">{{cite web |last1=Balchunas |first1=Caroline |title=Cold case playing cards given to Lowcountry inmates offer hope of solving old crimes |url=https://abcnews4.com/news/local/cold-case-playing-cards-given-to-lowcountry-inmates-offer-hope-of-solving-old-crimes |publisher=WCIV ABC 4 |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=October 18, 2017}}</ref> These decks are sold in [[Prison commissary|prison commissaries]], or even to the public,<ref name="ri-pawtucket">{{cite web |title=Rhode Island Cold Case by Pawtucket Police Department |url=https://coldcaseri.com/ |website=Rhode Island Cold Case |access-date=6 August 2019}}</ref> in the hopes that an inmate (or anyone else) might provide a new lead.<ref name="ae-2017">{{cite web |last1=Janos |first1=Adam |title=How Inmates Help Solve Cold-Case Murders While Playing Cards |url=https://www.aetv.com/real-crime/how-inmates-help-solve-cold-case-murders-while-playing-cards |publisher=A&E |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=December 29, 2017}}</ref> Cold case card programs have been introduced in over a dozen states, including by [[Oklahoma]]'s [[Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation|State Bureau of Investigation]],<ref name="edmond-drew">{{cite web |last1=Harmon |first1=Drew |title=OSBI unit brings cold cases to light |url=https://www.edmondsun.com/news/osbi-unit-brings-cold-cases-to-light/article_54755538-acb1-11e9-92ba-57d52046ade0.html |publisher=The Edmond Sun |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=July 22, 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190730072941/https://www.edmondsun.com/news/osbi-unit-brings-cold-cases-to-light/article_54755538-acb1-11e9-92ba-57d52046ade0.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Connecticut]]'s [[Connecticut Division of Criminal Justice|Division of Criminal Justice]] (five editions), the [[Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension]] (in 2008),<ref name="nyt-carballo-24"/> Delaware's [[Delaware Department of Correction|Department of Correction]],<ref name="dsn-panel">{{cite web |last1=Gronau |first1=Ian |title=Panel raises concern about 'cold case' playing cards in prisons |url=https://delawarestatenews.net/news/panel-raises-concern-about-cold-case-playing-cards-in-prisons/ |publisher=Delaware State News |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=December 1, 2018}}</ref> the [[Florida Department of Law Enforcement]],<ref name="fdle">{{cite web |title=Cold Case Playing Cards |url=http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/OSI/Cold-Case-Playing-Cards/Cold-Case-Playing-Cards.aspx |website=Florida Department of Law Enforcement |access-date=30 July 2019}}</ref> and [[Rhode Island]]'s [[Rhode Island Department of Corrections|Department of Corrections]],<ref name="prov-journal">{{cite web |last1=Milkovits |first1=Amanda |title=Betting on a tipped hand, police to release playing cards featuring cold cases |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20181218/betting-on-tipped-hand-police-to-release-playing-cards-featuring-cold-cases |publisher=Providence Journal |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=December 18, 2018}}</ref> among others. The [[Indiana Department of Correction]] sells cold case cards in prisons, and in 2024, Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers created cold case playing cards, distributing 2,500 decks.<ref name="nyt-carballo-24">{{cite news |last1=Carballo |first1=Rebecca |title=These Playing Cards Have an Extra Motive. Flushing Out Suspects. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/us/project-cold-case-cards.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 25, 2024}}</ref>

Among inmates, they may be called "snitch cards".<ref name="ksl">{{cite web |last1=McCracken |first1=Chance |title='Snitch cards' use inmates to help solve crimes |url=https://www.ksl.com/article/16134111/snitch-cards-use-inmates-to-help-solve-crimes |website=KSL.com |access-date=30 July 2019 |date=July 5, 2011}}</ref> Prisoners with information may be motivated to come forward in order to receive a lightened sentence.<ref name="nyt-carballo-24"/>

=== Collecting ===
Because of the long history and wide variety in designs, playing cards are also collector's items.<ref name="cleveland-2010">{{cite web |last1=Attina |first1=Andy |title=Mayfield Heights man displays almost 4,000 playing card decks he has collected in just 10 years |url=https://www.cleveland.com/sunmessenger/2010/04/mayfield_heights_man_displays.html |website=cleveland.com |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=April 8, 2010}}</ref><ref name="dmi-2019"/> In 1911, the ''New York Times'' described [[May King Van Rensselaer]]'s playing card collection of over 900 decks as the largest in the world.<ref name="nyt-1911">{{cite news |title=A Lady Who Has The Largest Collection Of Playing Cards In The World |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1911/11/26/archives/a-lady-who-has-the-largest-collection-of-playing-cards-in-the-world.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=November 26, 1911}}</ref> According to ''[[Guinness World Records]]'', the largest playing card collection comprises 11,087 decks and is owned by Liu Fuchang of China.<ref name="gwr-playing-cards">{{cite web |title=Largest collection of playing cards |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-collection-of-playing-cards |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=24 July 2019 |date=November 1, 2007}}</ref>  Individual playing cards are also collected, such as the world record collection of 8,520 different jokers belonging to Tony de Santis of Italy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Largest collection of joker playing cards |url=https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/largest-playing-card-joker-collection/ |website=Guinness World Records |access-date=31 January 2020}}</ref>

===Custom designs and artwork===
Custom decks may be produced for myriad purposes. Across the world, both individuals and large companies such as [[United States Playing Card Company]] (USPCC) design and release many different styles of decks,<ref name="bike-customized">{{cite web |title=Custom Printing - Customized Playing Cards |url=https://bicyclecards.com/custom-printing/ |website=Bicycle Playing Cards |publisher=The United States Playing Card Company|access-date=29 July 2019}}</ref> including commemorative decks,<ref name="yt-soviet-cards-maya">{{cite web |title=Did you know that the Soviet Union created a Maya playing cards deck back in the 50s? |url=https://www.theyucatantimes.com/2018/12/did-you-know-that-the-soviet-union-created-a-maya-playing-cards-deck-back-in-the-50s/ |publisher=Yucatan Times |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=December 7, 2018}}</ref> cards created for fundraising,<ref name="nyt-fabricant-21">{{cite news |last1=Fabricant |first1=Florence |title=Pick a Card, Any Card, for Dinner Inspiration |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/11/dining/gourmand-deck-restaurant-playing-cards.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 11, 2021}}</ref> and souvenir decks.<ref name="bakersfield-now-2018"/><ref name="wlwt5">{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=Natalie |title=New deck of cards features stories of veteran-run businesses, charities |url=https://www.wlwt.com/article/new-deck-of-cards-features-stories-of-veteran-run-businesses-charities/28337932 |publisher=WLWT5 |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=July 9, 2019}}</ref> Bold and colorful designs tend to be used for [[cardistry]] decks,<ref name="van-fair-2015"/><ref name="adweek-2016">{{cite web |last1=Klara |first1=Robert |title=How One of YouTube's Most Hypnotic Stars Is Building a Brand Around His 'Cardistry' |url=https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/how-one-youtubes-most-hypnotic-stars-building-brand-around-his-cardistry-171966/ |website=Adweek |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=June 15, 2016}}</ref><ref name="ball-state">{{cite web |last1=Thomas |first1=Nicole |last2=Helmen |first2=Jake |title=Ball State juniors raise awareness with custom playing card company |url=https://www.ballstatedailynews.com/article/2019/02/daily-lifestyles-organic-playing-cards |publisher=Ball State Daily News |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=February 26, 2019}}</ref> while more generally, playing cards (as well as tarot cards) may focus on artistic value.<ref name="yt-soviet-cards-maya"/><ref name="digi-arts">{{cite web |last1=Lee |first1=Giacomo |title=55 leading designers and illustrators have designed the world's most unique deck of cards |url=https://www.digitalartsonline.co.uk/news/hacking-maker/55-leading-designers-illustrators-designed-animated-playing-card-for-worlds-unique-deck-of-cards/ |website=Digital Arts |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=February 6, 2019}}</ref><ref name="out-queer">{{cite web |last1=Walker |first1=Harron |title=This Artist Is Making the Queerest Deck of Cards Ever |url=https://www.out.com/art-books/2019/2/20/artist-making-queerest-deck-cards-ever-0#media-gallery-media-0 |publisher=Out Magazine |access-date=29 July 2019 |date=February 20, 2019}}</ref><ref name="wsj-poker">{{cite web |last1=Tortorello |first1=Michael |title=Decks of Cards That Will Wow Your Poker Buddies |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/decks-of-cards-that-will-wow-your-poker-buddies-1509637873 |publisher=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=November 2, 2017}}</ref> Custom deck production is commonly funded on platforms such as [[Kickstarter]],<ref name="chi-trib">{{cite web |last1=Cherney |first1=Elyssa |title=Crowdfunding is a popular way to raise money. Just don't count on getting a refund if something goes wrong. |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-met-crowdfunding-chicago-consumer-protection-20190304-story.html |publisher=[[Chicago Tribune]] |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=April 15, 2019}}</ref><ref name="pn-glatzer">{{cite web |last1=Glatzer |first1=Jason |title=Peeking On the Future of Poker: What's Going On At Kickstarter |url=https://www.pokernews.com/news/2015/06/future-of-poker-kickstarter-22041.htm |website=PokerNews |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=June 27, 2015}}</ref><ref name="blanchard-swinburne">{{cite web |last1=Blanchard |first1=Kaitlyn |title=Swinburne alumnus works his magic |url=http://www.swinburne.edu.au/news/latest-news/2019/05/swinburne-alumnus-works-his-magic-.php |website=Swinburne University of Technology |access-date=6 August 2019 |date=May 14, 2019}}</ref> with companies offering card printing services to the public.

In 1976, the [[JPL Gallery]] in [[London]] commissioned a card deck from a variety of contemporary British artists including [[Maggie Hambling]], [[Patrick Heron]], [[David Hockney]], [[Howard Hodgkin]], [[John Hoyland]], and [[Allen Jones (sculptor)|Allen Jones]] called "The Deck of Cards".<ref name="christies">{{cite web |title=Leading the pack: A card-size survey of modern and contemporary Indian art |url=https://www.christies.com/features/The-British-Councils-Taash-ke-Patte-8330-1.aspx |publisher=Christie's |access-date=28 July 2019 |date=19 May 2017}}</ref> Forty years later in 2016, the [[British Council]] commissioned a similar deck called "Taash ke Patte" featuring [[India]]n artists such as [[Bhuri Bai]], [[Shilpa Gupta]], [[Krishen Khanna]], [[Ram Rahman]], [[Gulam Mohammed Sheikh]], [[Arpita Singh]], and [[Thukral & Tagra]].<ref name="christies"/><ref name="ie-chattopadhyay">{{cite web |last1=Chattopadhyay |first1=Pallavi |title=Check Mate: For the love of playing cards |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/the-deck-of-cards-taash-ke-patte-exhibition-2799433/ |publisher=The Indian Express |access-date=1 August 2019 |date=May 14, 2016}}</ref><ref name="ht-lopez-17">{{cite web |last1=Lopez |first1=Rachel |title=Aces! Christie's to auction deck of cards painted by 54 Indian artists |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/mumbai-news/aces-christie-s-to-auction-deck-of-cards-painted-by-54-indian-artists/story-gRnGmi2pzmu8Lvrf8TqZ7H.html |publisher=Hindustan Times |access-date=1 August 2019 |date=June 15, 2017}}</ref> American artist [[Tom Sachs]] has printed several custom decks featuring photos of his artwork.<ref name="nyt-lubow-16">{{cite news |last1=Lubow |first1=Arthur |title=Tom Sachs's Workshop: Willy Wonka Would Approve |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/arts/design/tom-sachss-workshop-willy-wonka-would-approve.html |access-date=28 March 2023 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=March 11, 2016 |quote=The entrance passes through a quirky bodega (its hours are as erratic as everything else in Sachs World) that offers for sale such souvenirs as the phony [[Swiss passport]], a deck of Sachs-designed playing cards and assorted [[zine]]s that the studio puts out.}}</ref><ref name="hb-estiler-19">{{cite web |last1=Estiler |first1=Keith |title=A Look Inside the Tom Sachs x BEAMS Pop-Up Shop in Tokyo |url=https://hypebeast.com/2019/4/tom-sachs-beams-pop-up-shop-exclusive-look |publisher=Hypebeast |access-date=28 March 2023 |date=April 22, 2019 |quote=Accompanying the co-branded tees is select hardware from Tom Sachs studio such as foldable chairs, quarter screws, Japanese playing cards, note pads, multi-tonal pens, as well as the [[Noguchi Museum]] x Tom Sachs floor lamps.}}</ref>

Playing cards themselves may also be used to make art, such as being used as a canvas for an [[Artist trading cards|artist trading card]].

=== Military identification ===
Playing cards are a useful tool to pass information to troops during downtime. In World War II, the [[United States Playing Card Company]] produced a deck of cards featuring silhouettes of American, British, German, Italian, and Japanese aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=WWII Aircraft Spotting Cards |url=http://www.ameshistory.org/exhibits/events/aircraft_spotting_cards.htm |date=14 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514085529/http://www.ameshistory.org/exhibits/events/aircraft_spotting_cards.htm |archive-date=2016-05-14 }}</ref> The Allies also produced maps concealed in playing cards.<ref>{{cite web |title=OFLAG IVC PRISONER OF WAR CAMP AT COLDITZ CASTLE, GERMANY DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205069242 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}}</ref> During the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]], the US military produced [[Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards]] to help soldiers identify enemy leaders. According to a [[Defense Intelligence Agency]] spokesperson, the practice actually dates back to the [[American Civil War]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Burgess |first=Lisa |title=Buyers beware: The real Iraq 'most wanted' cards are still awaiting distribution |publisher=Stars and Stripes |date=17 April 2003 |url=https://www.stripes.com/news/buyers-beware-the-real-iraq-most-wanted-cards-are-still-awaiting-distribution-1.4525 |access-date=17 February 2017 |archive-date=24 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170324031348/http://www.stripes.com/news/buyers-beware-the-real-iraq-most-wanted-cards-are-still-awaiting-distribution-1.4525 |url-status=live }}</ref> A design depicting [[Igor Girkin]] and presumably other Russian leaders appeared during the 2022 [[Russian invasion of Ukraine]], and a [[Hamas most wanted playing cards|similar deck of cards depicting Hamas]] was produced after the [[2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel|October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel]].

Card decks have also been used as an educational tool to help military personnel and civilians identify [[unexploded ordnance]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Playing Cards as Weapons of War |url=https://playingcarddecks.com/blogs/all-in/playing-cards-as-weapons-of-war |website=PlayingCardDecks.com |date=16 April 2019 |language=en}}</ref>

==Symbols in Unicode==
{{infobox symbol
|name = Suit symbols
|mark = ♠ ♣ <br />♥ ♦ <br />♤ ♧ <br />♡ ♢
|unicode = {{unichar|2660|Black spade suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2665|Black heart suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2663|Black club suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2666|Black diamond suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2664|White spade suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2661|White heart suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2667|White club suit}}<br />
{{unichar|2662|White diamond suit}}
}}
{{Main article|Playing cards in Unicode}}
The [[Unicode]] standard for character encoding defines 8 characters (symbols) for card suits in the [[Miscellaneous Symbols]] block, at {{mono|U+2660–2667}}. The Unicode names for each group of four glyphs are 'black' and 'white' but might have been more accurately described as 'solid' and 'outline' since the colour actually used at display or printing time is an application choice.

Later, [[Unicode 7.0]] added the 52 cards of the modern French pack, plus 4 knights, and a character for "Playing Card Back" and black, red and white jokers, in the [[Playing Cards (Unicode block)|Playing Cards]] block ({{mono|U+1F0A0–1F0FF}}).<ref>{{citation|url=https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F0A0.pdf|title=Unicode – Playing Cards Block|access-date=2014-11-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101026063652/https://unicode.org/charts/PDF/U1F0A0.pdf|archive-date=2010-10-26|url-status=live}}</ref>

== See also ==
{{Div col|colwidth=18em}}
;Types of decks:
:[[Standard 52-card deck]]
:[[Stripped deck]]
:[[Tarot]]
:[[Transformation playing card]]
:[[Trick deck]]

;Uses:
:[[Card game]]
:[[Cartomancy]]
:[[Card manipulation]]
:[[Card money]]
:[[Card throwing]]
:[[House of cards]]
:[[Sleight of hand]]

;Geographic origin:
:[[Chinese playing cards]]
:[[French playing cards]]
:[[Ganjifa]]
:[[German playing cards]]
:[[Hanafuda]]
:[[Italian playing cards]]
:[[Karuta]]
:[[Spanish playing cards]]
:[[Swiss playing cards]]
:[[Tujeon]]

;Terminology:
:[[Glossary of card game terms]]
:[[List of playing card nicknames]]

;Specific decks:
:[[Archaeology awareness playing cards]]
:[[Most-wanted Iraqi playing cards]]
:[[Politicards]]
:[[Trading card]]
:[[Zener cards]] (parapsychology)

;Sources for further information:
:[[Cary Collection of Playing Cards]]
:[[International Playing-Card Society]]
:[[Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer]]
:[[Museum of Fournier de Naipes]]
:[[:Category:Playing card manufacturers|Playing card manufacturers]]
:[[:Category:Playing card organisations|Playing card organisations]]
{{Div col end}}

== Footnotes ==
{{Notelist}}

==Further reading==
*Maltese playing cards. {{cite journal|title=The Playing-Card|url=http://www.i-p-c-s.org/journal/33-3.pdf|volume=32|issue=3|date=January 2005|journal=Journal of the International Playing-Card Society|issn=0305-2133|editor=Michael Cooper|last=Bonello|first=Giovanni|author-link=Giovanni Bonello|pages=191–197|archive-date=29 April 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050429042146/http://i-p-c-s.org/journal/33-3.pdf}}
* Griffiths, Antony. ''Prints and Printmaking'' [[British Museum Press]] (in UK),2nd edn, 1996 {{ISBN|0-7141-2608-X}}
* Hind, Arthur M. ''An Introduction to a History of Woodcut''. Houghton Mifflin Co. 1935 (in USA), reprinted Dover Publications, 1963 {{ISBN|0-486-20952-0}}
* Roman du Roy Meliadus de Leonnoys (British Library, Add MS 12228, fol. 313v), c. 1352
* {{Citation | last=Singer | first=Samuel Weller | author-link=Samuel Weller Singer| title=Researches into the History of Playing Cards | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZTMCAAAAYAAJ | publisher=R. Triphook | year=1816 |ref=Singer }}

== References ==
=== Citations ===
{{Reflist}}

=== Cited sources ===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Decker |first1=Ronald |last2=Depaulis |first2=Thierry |last3=Dummett |first3=Michael |title=A Wicked Pack of Cards: Origins of the Occult Tarot |date=1996 |publisher=Bristol Classical Press |isbn=978-0715627136}}
* {{cite book |last=Denning |first=Trevor |date=1996 |title=The Playing Cards of Spain |location=London |publisher=Cygnus Arts |isbn=978-0838637470}}
* {{cite magazine |last=Depaulis |first=Thierry |author-link=Thierry Depaulis |title=Cards and Cards: Early References to Playing Cards in England |magazine=The Playing-Card |volume=41 |number=3 |date=Jan–Mar 2013 |issn=1752-671X}}
* {{cite book |last=Dummett |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Dummett |title=The Game of Tarot |isbn=978-0715610145 |date=1980 |publisher=Duckworth |location=London}}
* Ferg, Alan, Virginia Wayland and Harold Wayland (2007). "Recognizing a Nineteenth-Century Apache Playing Card Artist: The Tonte Naipero" in ''The Playing-Card'', Vol. 36, No. 2, Oct-Dec 2007. 100–120.
* {{Cite book|last=Gorges|first=Florent|title=La historia de Nintendo Volumen I|language=es |year=2015a|publisher=Héroes de papel|isbn=978-84-942881-3-5}}
* {{Citation |last=Needham |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |year=1954 |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 1, Introductory Orientations |publisher=Cambridge University Press |url=https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_1_Introductory_Orientations#page/n5/mode/2up}}
* {{Citation |last=Needham |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |year=2004 |orig-year=1962 |title=Science and Civilisation in China: Volume 4, Physics and Physical Technology; Part 1, Physics |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-05802-3 |url=https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_4-1_Physics_and_Physical_Technology_Physics#mode/2up}}
* {{Citation |last1=Needham |first1=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Needham |last2=Tsien |first2=Tsuen-hsuin |author2-link=Tsien Tsuen-hsuin |year=1985 |title=Science and Civilization in China: Volume 5, Chemistry and Chemical Technology, Part 1, Paper and Printing |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-08690-6 |url=https://archive.org/stream/ScienceAndCivilisationInChina/Needham_Joseph_Science_and_Civilisation_in_China_Vol_5-1_Chemistry_and_Chemical_Technology_Paper_and_Printing#page/n3/mode/2up}}
* {{Citation |last=Parlett |first=David |author-link=David Parlett |title=The Oxford Guide to Card Games |year=1990 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-214165-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordguidetocar00parl}}
* {{Cite book|last=Sheff|first=David| author-link = David Sheff | title=Game Over: How Nintendo Conquered the World|year=1999 |publisher=GamePress|isbn=978-0-966-9617-0-6|edition=1st GamePress|location=Wilton, CT|oclc=1131659026 |url=https://archive.org/details/0966961706|access-date=27 July 2019}}

{{refend}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q47883|wikt=playing card|n=no|s=1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Cards, Playing|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|species=no|c=Category:Playing cards|b=Card Games/Cards}}

{{Playing card |state =expanded}}
{{Tarot Cards}}
{{Poker footer}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Playing Card}}
[[Category:Playing cards| ]]
[[Category:Chinese inventions]]
[[Category:History of card decks]]
[[Category:Paper products]]
[[Category:Tang dynasty]]
[[Category:Tarot]]
[[Category:Collecting]]

[[pt:Baralho]]